1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system and method for interactive participation during shopping activity; and more particularly, to a system and method by which patrons at a shopping venue become enrolled and are afforded various opportunities to receive promotions and answer queries using wireless interactive devices, thereby enhancing the shopping experience and enjoyment.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Spectator events and, in particular, spectator sporting events have become a multibillion dollar a year business throughout the world. Millions of people attend their favorite sporting events, choosing among baseball, soccer, basketball, hockey, football, tennis, golf, auto racing, horse racing, boxing, and many others. Rather than merely watching sporting events on television, fans are willing to pay for the privilege of attending such events live in order to enjoy the spontaneity and excitement.
Audience reaction at live entertainment events is generally gauged informally on crowd volume. At certain events, limited amounts of information are shared with audience members using large screen displays such as those available from Sony Corporation under the trademark JUMBOTRON®. However, the opportunities for audience participation and useful or meaningful audience feedback are limited.
Marketing research has shown that audience members desire both an opportunity to participate in the spectator event and enjoy interactivity with other audience members. Informed audience members desire an opportunity to share their opinions with others. Heretofore, there has been no practical means to solicit the aggregate positions and the opinions of audience members at large venues (e.g., stadiums, arenas, race tracks, golf courses, theme parks, and other expansive outdoor/indoor venues).
Fans at live entertainment events have come to expect background information and detailed analysis from viewing televised sporting events at home and/or readily obtaining such information over the Internet. Further, audience members are becoming more and more accustomed to interactivity from their use of computer games, such as fantasy sports league games, that allow them to organize teams, determine game strategies and test their skill at managing a sports team. Accordingly, in order to continue attracting live audiences to attend these large venues, promoters have an incentive to provide audience members with an enhanced experience.
One example of a venue that would benefit from enhanced audience participation is major league baseball. The games last several hours, and audience members ordinarily spend most of their time in and around a reserved seat. When going to the concession stand or restrooms, the fan misses part of the game. Further, opportunities for interaction and expressing one's opinion are typically limited to cheering or jeering. Occasionally, a single fan or a few fans are selected to participate in a contest, such as a trivia contest, but these opportunities are extremely limited. Nearly every fan has an opinion about how the game should be played, and would like an opportunity to express his or her opinion. Ideally, fans would like to be recognized for their skill and knowledge concerning individual teams and/or winning strategies. Fans also desire to express opinions concerning facilities, sponsors, players, management and concessions. Being able to voice an opinion, and comparing the opinion to that of other fans, would enhance the overall experience. Also, this kind of information can be useful to management by helping it determine the kind of services that fans desire.
Additionally, an often-heard complaint from fans is that they missed some of the action because they could not see or did not know precisely what was happening. For example, any particular seat location affords its occupant only a single view of a playing field. In addition, some locations fail to offer an unobstructed view of the entire field. On other occasions a technical ruling made by a game official is not fully explained to those in attendance but is extensively analyzed by television and/or radio announcers, often with one or more instant replays of the event in question. Fans commonly resort to carrying conventional portable radio and TV receivers to games, whereby they obtain game commentary, instant replays, and the like to complement what they directly observe or obtain from the stadium's own announcers, scoreboards, and video displays.
It is also noted that spectators commuting to and/or from events do not have ready access to desirable information such as sports related information and other information such as traffic and weather reports.
The foregoing considerations apply to additional forms of entertainment that are associated with specific and defined programmatic content having an identifiable duration, such as the content provided by an athletic event, a musical or theatrical performance, or the like. Similar enhancements are also sought in connection with forms of entertainment that do not entail specific programmatic content. For example, persons patronize museums, casinos, shopping malls, theme parks, agricultural fairs or similar expositions, trade shows, conventions, or the like recognize entertainment value, whether or not such situations and activities include specific programmatic content having a generally defined duration as part or all of their experience.
Accordingly, there remains a need for a method and system that provides interaction that heightens the enjoyment experienced by participants in any of the aforementioned forms of entertainment.